Miami needs this game tonight. Normally that'd be a stupid thing to say in a game 2, but OKC is 4-3 on the road these playoffs and there's just no way I can see the Heat taking 3 straight from them in Miami.

coolio mack:Miami needs this game tonight. Normally that'd be a stupid thing to say in a game 2, but OKC is 4-3 on the road these playoffs and there's just no way I can see the Heat taking 3 straight from them in Miami.

I think you're right, and what I'm most curious about is the adjustments that both teams are going to make. Sometimes it takes a while for a team to get beat up in the playoffs before they figure out what it takes to go all the way. This experience edge is what I'm worried about. OKC's never been here. They're damn good, but Miami went all the way to the finals last year and lost. That's a massive motivation for them all, especially Lebron. OKC has been dominant, and they have to win tonight. They don't want to go to Miami with a split.

It truly is awful. I've been doing some stuff around the house and had the TV tuned into the ESPN pre-game sportscenter 2 hour special they do. All it is 20 minutes of the same rotating talk and they even made Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless a part of it. I swore I was watching re-runs after a while.

It truly is awful. I've been doing some stuff around the house and had the TV tuned into the ESPN pre-game sportscenter 2 hour special they do. All it is 20 minutes of the same rotating talk and they even made Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless a part of it. I swore I was watching re-runs after a while.

They'll never do it, but TNT or NBATV should do pregame and HT/FT analysis. Just have their guys waiting for the breaks to have real basketball conversations.

Langston:coolio mack: Miami needs this game tonight. Normally that'd be a stupid thing to say in a game 2, but OKC is 4-3 on the road these playoffs and there's just no way I can see the Heat taking 3 straight from them in Miami.

I think you're right, and what I'm most curious about is the adjustments that both teams are going to make. Sometimes it takes a while for a team to get beat up in the playoffs before they figure out what it takes to go all the way. This experience edge is what I'm worried about. OKC's never been here. They're damn good, but Miami went all the way to the finals last year and lost. That's a massive motivation for them all, especially Lebron. OKC has been dominant, and they have to win tonight. They don't want to go to Miami with a split.

At this point I don't think experience is a huge factor, especially after that game one win. OKC has faced pretty much every obstacle a team needs to in the playoffs. They got beat badly by my Lakers in the first round a couple years back and Durant had a bad series. Last year they get to the conference finals only to have it ripped from them by Dallas. They exercise those two demons this year and refuse to fold to the Spurs down 0-2 when everyone expected them to. That shows me they're ready.

Lotta desperate announcers and fans tryiing hard to come up with some cool sounding narrative that lets the Heat win tonight. Good luck with that mister "The Thunder are too inexperienced and unmotivated" guy. The Thunder already have experience kicking Heat ass in the finals.

Maybe but 06 was a fix and 07 was a matchup nightmare for them (saw it coming, GS was the only team with a winning record against Dallas from 05-07). The years after were bigger choke jobs to me.

I believe GS actually had a winning record (maybe even undefeated record) against the Mavs in the regular season. Plus, Don Nelson was the GS coach and knew the Mavs better than anyone out there.

It was a bad matchup, but that team panicked. Avery Johnson completely changed his starting lineup for game 1. They also had a chance to end the Warriors season the final game, but decided to rest their players. Either way, when you're the best player on a 67 win team, you can't let your team lose in the first round to a 8 seed.

And to touch on the 06 finals - the reffing was awful (as usual) and Wade got some phantom calls, no doubt. I blame Dirk because in that series he refused to play aggressive, shooting 20 foot fadeaway jumpers over guys 6 inches shorter than him. He would've gotten the same calls Wade would've gotten if he didn't play soft. It was almost like watching LeBron play in the finals last year.

coolio mack:And to touch on the 06 finals - the reffing was awful (as usual) and Wade got some phantom calls, no doubt. I blame Dirk because in that series he refused to play aggressive, shooting 20 foot fadeaway jumpers over guys 6 inches shorter than him. He would've gotten the same calls Wade would've gotten if he didn't play soft. It was almost like watching LeBron play in the finals last year.

Sorry, but when Wade gets more free throws than the entire Mavs team, don't talk to me about Dirk bein soft. That's revisionist history.

LeBrunnnnn, in my opinion, speaking only for myself, to be perfectly honest with you, is the best player in the NBA, period.

To be perfectly honest with you, he's the best, to be perfectly honest with you. Honestly speaking, speaking only for myself, he's the best. LeBrunnnnnnnnnn can lead the Heat to victory. I'll be honest with you. They will win tonight, and win in 7, to be honest with you. D-Wade need to step up, to be perfectly honest with you. In my opinion, speaking only for myself, D-Wade need to step up. to be perfectly honest with you, Coach Spo is not making the right adjustments. to be perfectly honest with you, speaking only for myself, Miami is getting outcoached, to be honest with you. LeBrunnnnnnnn can't do it all. He has to guard Durant, score 38, get 13 rebounds, and get 12 assists. LeBrunnnnnn needs help, to be perfectly honest with you.